Amnesia
by Elvaralind
Summary: When Sam has an accident offworld, why can she remember everyone except for Jack? Complete
1. Default Chapter

SPOILERS: Up to Season 5 as I've only seen that far  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this either. I don't own the song either, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Once more great thanks to my beta reader. This is my first attempt at a story with chapters so please be nice. Please review, and keep any criticism constructive :)  
I hope to get the next chapter up by next weekend.   
  
************  
  
The Stargate spun into life, setting off the klaxons and alarms around the base.  
  
"It's SG1's code, sir", the sergeant on duty said to General Hammond.  
  
"Open the Iris," the General replied, facing the stargate. SG1 were early, and for some reason this worried him.   
  
The Iris seemed to take an achingly slow time to open, revealing the watery blue surface of the event horizon.   
Almost as soon as the iris was open, the surface rippled and Teal'c came though, carrying an unconscious Major Samantha Carter in his arms. Daniel Jackson followed swiftly after, with Colonel Jack O'Neill bringing up the rear, and yelling "Close the Iris!"  
  
"Medical Team to the Gateroom!" The Sergeant called over the PA system. The Iris closed, but not before a staff weapon blast came through the 'gate and hit one of the walls of the gateroom.  
Dr Janet Frasier rushed in with a medical team carrying a stretcher. She took in the sight of Major Carter, who was now being laid upon the stretcher by Teal'c. Like the rest of the team, upon first glance she appeared uninjured, if you ignored the fact that she was unconscious.  
  
"What happened?" She asked Daniel, who was hovering worriedly next to her.  
  
"That's what I'd like to know," General Hammond said, as he appeared at the bottom of the ramp. "Colonel O'Neill?'  
  
"We're not sure, sir. Daniel was looking at his rocks, and Carter was studying some machine nearby. Teal'c and I were patrolling the area. The next thing we know, Jaffa are attacking us and Carter is unconscious."  
  
The General looked grave. "Debriefing in one hour. Get yourselves checked out by Dr. Frasier."  
  
"Sir." Jack acknowledged his orders and followed Dr Frasier and the rest of his team out to the infirmary.  
  
***********  
  
The debriefing went smoothly, with only the noticeable absence of Sam Carter marring the otherwise normal situation.   
Jack began to relate what had occurred during the mission. "Well, the mission started off as normal, Teal'c and I secured the perimeter and then we walked about a mile west of the gate to look at Daniel's rocks...... uh......artefacts. There was also this machine in the trees close to the clearing with the.... artefacts in, which Carter wanted to check out.   
She took the soil samples first, and then started to check out the device. Teal'c and I left them to it and began to patrol the area, keeping an eye out for any potential threats and keeping radio contact with them.  
We were quite close to Daniel and Carter when I first heard the Jaffa. We got to the clearing just as they attacked from the opposite side, where we found Daniel with an unconscious Carter."  
  
Jack looked at Daniel, who began to fill in the parts of the story that Jack had missed out, or hadn't known about.   
"She can't have been out for long. I had called out to her and asked her something maybe just 5, 10 minutes previously. Next thing I know, a staff weapon blasts from out of the trees, and I can hear Jaffa getting closer. Jack and Teal'c came out from the opposite side of the clearing when they attacked. We went to get Sam, but we just found her unconscious on the floor. Teal'c picked her up and we ran towards the gate, firing back on the Jaffa."   
  
"And how is Major Carter?" General Hammond questioned the team at the end of the debriefing.  
  
"She's still unconscious, although Doc Frasier says she doesn't appear to have any obvious injuries, except for a bump on the head," Jack replied.  
  
General Hammond nodded. "Dismissed." The team filed out of the room, Daniel and Teal'c heading straight to the infirmary. "Jack," General Hammond kept him back for a minute.  
  
"Sir?" Jack asked, trying not to show his impatience to be out of the room.  
  
"Keep me updated on Major Carter's condition, will you?" Jack nodded. "And please do not take three weeks to file your report on this mission?"   
  
Jack tried to cover up his grin. "No sir."   
  
" Dismissed." Jack left the room, heading towards the infirmary.   
  
***********  
  
Janet hurried over to the bed when she heard a groan from her patient.  
  
"Sam?" She looked worriedly at her friend, who was trying to shade her eyes against the harsh brightness of the infirmary lights.  
  
Sam tuned towards the sound of her voice. "Janet?" She could make out the slightly blurred figure of the doctor.   
  
"How are you feeling?" Janet asked, as she examined her patient, helping her to sit up, and passing her a glass of water.  
  
"My head hurts." Sam stated as she gratefully accepted the water, trying to rid herself of the dry taste in her mouth.  
  
"Sam!" They both looked up, towards the door, where Daniel and Teal'c were standing, a look of relief on Daniel's face. He came towards them, Teal'c following. "How are you doing? What happened? Are you okay?" Sam smiled at his worried interrogation.  
  
"I'm fine, my head hurts a bit and I think someone must have hit me from behind." She grimaced and rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head.  
  
"It is good to see you awake again, Major Carter," Teal'c stated gravely, bowing slightly.  
  
"It's good to see you too, Teal'c," Sam smiled at her friends, already feeling much better.  
  
Janet stepped back from the bed. "Well, from what I can tell, you're fine, apart from that bump," she gestured to Sam's head. "You'll have to stay here overnight so I can keep an eye on you, but then you should be okay to get back to work."  
  
Sam grinned. "Great!"  
  
**********  
  
Just then, Jack came into the infirmary. He saw Sam sitting up and grinned. "Hey Sam, you're awake! How're you feeling?" Sam gave him a strange look.  
  
"It is proper to call someone you don't know personally by their rank, not by their first name." She said coldly.   
  
"Carter?" Jack asked uncertainly. He began to look confused, and slightly worried. The others also turned to look at her in confusion.  
  
"Sir." She stated, still coldly, but this time acknowledging his rank. A sneaking feeling of suspicion began to creep into Janet's mind.  
  
"Sam?" she asked gently, "You do know who this is, right?" She gestured at the figure of Jack who stood a little way away from the bed.   
  
Sam turned towards her. "No." She stated. "I've never seen this man before in my life." 


	2. Chapter2

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this either, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: OOH, a new chapter!! Once more great thanks to my beta reader, Zoe (user id:248496 , check out her stories). This is my first attempt at a story with chapters so please be nice. Please review, and keep any criticism constructive :)  
  
Once again, I hope to get the next chapter up by next weekend.   
  
******  
  
Daniel, Teal'c, Janet and Jack stared at Sam in various states of surprise and shock. Jack studied Sam's expression for any sign that she was joking but upon finding none, he turned around abruptly and strode out of the infirmary.  
  
"Wh-What did you say?" Daniel asked, slightly breathlessly, being the first to regain his voice.  
  
"Major Carter, You have worked with O'Neill for the past five years." Teal'c stated solemnly. Sam stared at him as if he'd grown another head.  
  
"What are you guys on about? This is a joke, right?" Sam was beginning to look confused.  
  
"No joke, Sam," Daniel shook his head slowly.  
  
"Someone should tell General Hammond." Janet announced, getting up.  
  
"No need." Hammond stood in the doorway. "Colonel O'Neill informed me that there was a 'situation'. Now would someone like to explain to me what the hell is going on?"  
  
"It would seem that Major Carter has no memory of Colonel O'Neill," Janet spoke up, "Yet, she seems to remember everyone else here."  
  
"Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill has been your commanding officer and leader of SG1 for five years." Hammond spoke to Sam.  
  
"Sir?" Sam looked at him strangely. "I'm leader of SG1." Once again, they all stared at her.  
  
"Major, just for the record, would you tell me who SG1 is made up of?" Hammond asked seriously.  
  
"Myself, Daniel, Teal'c and Lieutenant Simmons." Sam said calmly.  
  
General Hammond looked grave. He turned to those standing in the room, and to Jack who was standing in the doorway. " We need to find out exactly what she remembers, and try to find out what happened. Doctor, are there any more tests you can run?" Janet nodded in response. "Good, I want a progress report in three hours of what you have found." They acknowledged his orders, and he left the infirmary, with Jack following.  
  
******  
  
Three hours later, and they all assembled in the briefing room once more, this time including Sam.  
  
"Well," General Hammond turned to them. "What have you found out?"  
  
Daniel spoke up. "Teal'c and I have questioned Sam about her time working at the SGC, and about our missions. It seems that everything she remembers is exactly the same as we remember it, except, of course, for the fact that Jack isn't in her memories, at times even being replaced with Simmons." At this last comment, Jack looked slightly worried, but kept silent.  
  
General Hammond looked a little surprised, and turned to Janet. "Could this be amnesia, doctor, caused by Major Carter hitting her head?"  
  
Janet shook her head. "I don't think so, sir. With amnesia, we would expect it to wipe out large chunks of memory - not just certain people, then replacing them with others."  
  
"Then what?" General Hammond wondered.  
  
At this point, Jack spoke up for the first time. "Could it be another alternate reality?"  
  
"Well, I didn't see anything that looked like a Quantum mirror on the planet," said Daniel, looking thoughtful. "And wouldn't we have two Sam's if that had happened?"  
  
Sam nodded in agreement. "I didn't touch anything that looked even remotely like a Quantum mirror."   
  
"What if she was exposed to something, like we were when we thought that Lieutenant Tyler was a member of our team?" Daniel suggested.  
  
"I had already thought of that," Janet admitted, "But, I checked her MRI, and there was no evidence of any increased or altered brain activity. I didn't find any unidentified substances on her clothing either. There's no evidence of it."  
  
"Teal'c, have you ever seen anything like this?" Hammond questioned the Jaffa.  
  
"I have not." Teal'c replied. "Nor have I heard of this happening previously."  
  
They fell into silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Daniel spoke up again. "What about the Za'tarc machine?"  
  
Jack stiffened involuntarily at this comment. "A Za'tarc? You think she's a Za'tarc??" he said, slightly incredulously. "You mean those Goa'uld assassin-y guys?" He paused. "But Major Graham remembered everything - or at least, he hadn't seemed to have forgotten anything to make us suspicious. Doesn't it kinda defeat the object of remaining undetected if Carter can't remember one of us?"   
  
Daniel shook his head. "No, that's not quite what I meant. Didn't Anise say that the machine could detect any differences between peoples conscious and subconscious memory or something? Maybe that could help us?"   
  
Janet looked thoughtful. "I guess it might help. It certainly couldn't hurt to call the Tok'ra and ask." At this, there was a derisive snort from the colonel.   
  
General Hammond turned and glared at him. He turned back to the others. "I think it's the best chance we've got." He turned to Daniel. "Call the Tok'ra." 


	3. Chapter3

DISCLAIMER:I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry for not getting this chapter up last weekend - i had loads of work. But, i might get chapter 4 up this weekend as im halfway through writing it, and i might get it finished and up. Thanks for all the great reviews - i have tried to make this chapter longer, but its still quite short.  
  
******  
  
Personally, Sam wasn't sure what all the fuss about. It seemed to her that everyone was making a mountain out of a molehill. Well, that was a lie, of course, she realised that it was a serious problem that she had seemingly lost parts of her memory, but other than that... Surely she and this Colonel O'Neill couldn't have been that close? To her, he seemed like just another CO who thought that having a woman on their team was a weakness. But, then again, they had apparently worked together for 5 years - a fact verified by both Teal'c and General Hammond. This was all just getting too confusing. She sighed, and shook her head, trying to clear the muddle of thoughts. Maybe she should go and talk to Janet.   
  
******  
  
As she walked down the corridor, on her way to the Infirmary, Jack was coming the other way. Neither of them saw the other and they almost bumped into each other, as they tried to go through the same doorway at the same time.   
  
Jack stepped back. "Major," he spoke coldly, his expression neutral and unreadable.   
  
Sam glanced at him, and spoke equally coldly, "Colonel." She moved through the doorway quickly, and continued on her way to the Infirmary.  
  
Jack stood motionless for a moment, watching her go. He shook his head, and sighed, and continued down the corridor in the opposite direction.   
  
******  
  
"Janet, could I talk to you?" Sam stood in the doorway to the Infirmary, looking a little tense. Janet looked up at her friend, and nodded, looking concerned.  
  
"Sure Sam. Are you okay?" She asked.  
  
"I'm fine. I just need to talk to someone." Sam answered.  
  
Janet nodded. "Sure, come into my office, we can talk there." Sam nodded, and followed her into the room. Janet closed the door. "So what's wrong?"  
  
Sam sighed, and looked down at her hands. "I'm just so confused. Everyone is making such a big deal of this, and... and I don't know why. Colonel O'Neill just doesn't seem to me to be like the sort of person I would get on with. I just need someone to tell me more about him and our relationship. Why is everyone so shocked about this?" She looked up at Janet, an expression of worry and confusion on her face.  
  
Janet smiled comfortingly at her friend, looking at her with understanding. "Why does everyone think this is such a big deal? Well, I guess it's because SG1 are very close, and its hard for everyone to believe that one member of that team could be completely wiped from another member of the team's memory." She paused.  
"Like with you are with Daniel and Teal'c, you and Colonel O'Neill were... are... good friends." Janet corrected herself. "And because you are both military, you have that bond as well. And of course, you both made a great team as CO and 2IC. A really great team, in fact. You worked really well together."  
"As for Colonel O'Neill, he's not quite what he seems. He isn't like some sexist CO's. He doesn't mind having you, as a woman, on his team. You've saved his ass on more than one occasion. He did have a problem with scientists though, which as you probably tell, almost brought you both to blows when you first met. I guess he still has the problem with scientists, but he's used to you and Daniel now, even if he never has any idea of what you are talking about."  
  
Sam smiled at this comment. "He even offered to let the Tok'ra, whom he really dislikes, test the Za'tarc cure on him, so that he could save your brain, which he said was more important anyway." Janet paused again, to ponder on what else she could tell Sam about the Colonel.  
"He's very protective of his team, never leaves anyone behind. He's had a lot of field experience as well. He was in Black Ops and most of his file is labelled 'Classified'. He sticks to what he believes in and has no qualms about disregarding authority and breaking rules along the way. He trusts his instincts and he's quite often right."   
  
Already, Sam was beginning to feel some respect towards this man. Janet continued.  
"One of the reasons that he's been able to survive half of the things that he's been through is that he doesn't talk much about how he is feeling, or about what he's been through. I don't think he likes to show weakness, so he keeps it hidden, and he'll cover any emotions up with sarcasm. But he's a good man."  
  
"I guess first impressions can be wrong, then?" Sam felt slightly guilty for pre-judging him.  
  
"With the Colonel?" Janet smiled. "Most people's first impressions of him generally are." They sat in silence for a while, Sam contemplating this new information about a man she hardly knew, Janet contemplating Sam, her memory loss, and the possible consequences of it. They both looked up simultaneously as the alarms went off around the base.  
  
"That'll be the Tok'ra." Janet nodded as they both stood and made their way towards the gateroom. 


	4. Chapter4

DISCLAIMER:I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yay, new chapter! Thankyou for all the reviews - they keep me going. Thanks again to my beta. I know this chapter is short, but I'll try and doa longer one next, when the Tok'ra arrive.  
  
**********  
  
After his encounter with Sam in the corridor, Jack made his way towards the gym, needing to work off some steam. It was here that Daniel found him ten minutes later, beating up a punch bag.   
  
"Uh... Jack?" He asked, nervously.  
  
"What is it Daniel?" Jack asked grimly, continuing to pummel the bag in front of him. Daniel winced slightly. Jack was not in a good mood.  
  
"I just came to see how you're doing." Jack didn't answer and concentrated on the punch bag. Daniel sighed and tried again. "Jack?"  
  
"What?" he growled.  
  
"Well, I thought you might want to talk?" Daniel began to wish that he hadn't decided that this would be a good idea.  
  
"About what?" Jack asked innocently, pretending not to know what his friend was talking about.  
  
Daniel lost it. "About this whole situation! About Sam's memory loss! About you're feeling about this! A...About Sam." He stopped, realising that he may have overstepped the mark.  
  
Jack sighed, and stopped the punch bag from swinging, gripping it on both sides.  
"What do you want me to say, Daniel?" He turned to face him. "What do you want me to say?" He turned back to the punch bag, and began to hit at every point he made. "That it's a kick in the teeth that Carter remembers you guys and not me? That it hurts that she doesn't remember me or the experiences that we shared at all, not even remembering me as her CO, let alone as her friend? That every time I look at the woman I love, all I see is this blank look which makes me feel like my heart is being ripped out?" He stopped, as if realising that he had said too much. The punch bag swung idly. "God." He muttered, and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, his head in his hands.  
  
Daniel was slightly shocked. It wasn't often that Jack would be like this, even if he were drunk. He played his cards close to his chest, and was never one to willingly admit his feelings for Sam. Especially not in the way he just had. This was obviously affecting him much more than Daniel had initially thought. He stood and stared at the figure of Jack for a few seconds. He couldn't think when he had ever seen him like this before. It was so out of character for him, that he just looked so... disheartened. He sat down next to Jack on the floor.  
  
"It'll work out, Jack."   
  
Jack turned his head slightly towards Daniel. "How d'ya figure that out?"  
  
"Because the Tok'ra will be here soon, and they'll have the Za'tarc machine and I'm sure that they'll know what to do."  
  
Jack gave a snort of disbelief. His feelings towards the Tok'ra were well known, with the only one that he possibly trusted being Jacob Carter, Sam's father. He considered all the rest to be no better than the Goa'uld and held a deep mistrust for them.  
  
"Yeah, right. Since when have the Tok'ra ever helped us? Whenever they come here, something bad always seems to happen or am I the only one who has noticed that? Those wristband thingies, the Za'tarc incident, when Shaun'auc was killed - in their care, I might add. The only time they ever come to us is when they want help. And if we ever want anything from them in return, do we get it? No, because we're not advanced enough! So excuse me if I don't have much faith in the Tok'ra!" Jack spat out the last word of his rant in anger.  
  
Daniel was slightly inclined to agree with him. The Tok'ra were certainly not the most co-operative of races that they had encountered, and they were one of Earth's closest allies. At least the Tollan had rarely wanted Earth's help. He sighed and stood up.  
  
"Trust me, Jack. It will be okay. Sam will get her memories back and we can all go back to normal." Daniel smiled, and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.   
  
"I hope you're right, Danny, I really do." Daniel ignored the use of the nickname, smiled encouragingly at Jack and then left the Gym. Jack stared after him and completed the unfinished thought aloud to the empty gymnasium. "Because I really don't want to have to split up SG1." He leaned back against the wall again, lost in his own thoughts.  
  
The sirens sounded, signalling a gate activation, startling him out of his reverie. "It's the cavalry." He muttered sarcastically as he stood and ripped off the bindings on his hands. "Let's go say hi." 


	5. Chapter5

DISCLAIMER:I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yay, another chapter! And I might get Chapter 6 written this weekend too, yay! Thankyou all SO MUCH for the reviews!! They have really kept me going and are so nice to recieve. Thankyou! And of course thanks to my wonderful beta reader again - without her i would keep getting those minor details like color wrong ;)  
  
************  
  
General Hammond stood at the bottom of the ramp on the gateroom, waiting to greet the Tok'ra representatives. The Iris opened and the figures of Jacob Carter and another Tok'ra appeared, carrying the box that contained the Za'tarc testing machine. They approached General Hammond.  
  
"George, It's good to see you." Jacob Carter greeted his old friend.  
  
"Jacob." The General smiled.  
  
"May I ask what the problem is, that you needed us and the Za'tarc machine so urgently?" Jacob looked slightly concerned.  
  
General Hammond sighed, "Maybe you had better come to the briefing room and we'll explain."  
  
A look of alarm appeared in Jacob's eyes. "Is Sam alright?"  
  
General Hammond smiled slightly. "Physically, she's fine, don't worry."  
  
The look of alarm was replaced with one of slight confusion. "What do you mean, physically she's fine?" Jacob Carter was not in the mood for playing games.  
  
Hammond gestured to the doorway. "Why don't you come and ask her for yourself?"  
  
Jacob nodded and strode out of the room, General Hammond and the other To'kra following.  
  
******  
  
"She what?!" Jacob asked worriedly, throwing a concerned look towards his daughter.  
  
"She's seems to have had Colonel O'Neill wiped from her memory." General Hammond repeated. Jacob was quite for a moment, looking slightly shocked. Suddenly, his lips twitched upwards and he chuckled.   
  
"She forgot Jack?" He tried to hide the amusement in his voice, although the twinkle in his eyes gave him away. Jack scowled at him.   
  
"Glad to know you think it's so funny, Jacob."  
  
"Well, you have to admit, Jack, it would be very difficult to forget you." Jacob grinned. "You are a very…memorable person!"  
  
Jack rolled his eyes. "Very funny. Now can we please get back to the seriousness of this situation?" He sounded exasperated.  
  
Jacob nodded. "Of course. Sorry Jack." He thought for a moment, absorbing the information he had been told. "Well, I haven't personally heard of this happening before, and neither has Selmak." Jacob turned to Teal'c. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"  
  
"I have not." Teal'c answered gravely.  
  
Jacob nodded, "I thought so." He turned to them all. "Well, we can use the Za'tarc machine to detect any differences between Sam's conscious and subconscious memories. We won't be able to do much more than that with it, I'm afraid. You'll probably have to try and track the problem to the source."  
  
General Hammond. "That's as we expected. Let's try it."  
  
********  
  
Jack watched through the observation window as Sam sat in the chair and was strapped into position. The whole process brought back memories of a previous occasion when they had both been through this and of the confessions that had been confined to this very room as a result. Not that it mattered any more if Sam no longer remembered them. (Or had he been completely replaced by Simmons? That alternative didn't bear thinking about.) He sighed and leaned against a chair as Jacob began to question Sam.  
  
*******  
  
Sam entered the room, feeling the familiarity of the situation wash over her. She and Simmons had been accused of being Za'tarcs. But was it Simmons? Now that she tried to think about it, the details weren't very clear and the memory was fuzzy. She frowned and then shrugged it off. It was probably down to her head injury. As she was strapped into the chair, she glanced up at the observation room where Janet, Hammond, Colonel O'Neill and the rest of SG1 stood (minus Simmons). While the others smiled encouragingly at her, the Colonel seemed lost in thought. She didn't have much time to ponder on this though, as her father was beginning to question her.   
  
*******  
  
As soon as the machine and everything else had been set up, Jacob began to question his daughter. "Could you tell me exactly what occurred on the planet, as you remember it?"  
  
Sam nodded and began to speak. "The mission began smoothly. When we arrived on the planet, Teal'c and Lieutenant Simmons secured the area and then we walked a mile west of the gate to get to the clearing, which contained the artefacts that Daniel was interested in. In the trees at one end of the clearing was some kind of alien device that I wanted to check out.  
  
In the clearing, I took soil samples and then began to examine the machine, while Daniel began to translate the stone tablets. Teal'c and Simmons began to patrol the surrounding area, to make sure there was no danger.   
  
The machine had some traces of Naquadah in it, and I think it may have been Goa'uld in origin. I called to Daniel to borrow the camera, and I had just started to take some photographs of the machine, when someone grabbed me from behind and hit me over the head. I blacked out, and the next thing that I remember is being in the infirmary."  
  
Jacob nodded and looked at the swirling pink display of the Za'tarc machine. "And could you please repeat for me the members of SG1."  
  
"Myself, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson and Lieutenant Simmons."   
  
The display continued to swirl pink. Jacob looked up at Sam. "Okay, we're done." He pressed a few buttons and shut off the machine. 


	6. Chapter6

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm soo sorry that it has taken so long to get this chapter up, but Real Life intervened with loads of work, and then I got a minor case of Writer's block... well its here now :) I dont know when the next chapter will be up - i have exams coming up, but please keep checking back. And please review, your reviews are great and really keep me going:)   
  
*************  
  
"Well, the machine has confirmed what we already suspected. There is some difference between Sam's conscious and subconscious memories. This suggests that there has been some tampering with her memories." Jacob spoke to the others, back in the briefing room.  
  
"It must have been that machine." Daniel voiced his thoughts. "Unless there was something else that could have done it?" He turned to Sam, questioning.  
  
Sam thought momentarily. "No, I can't remember seeing anything. The alien device is the only solution." General Hammond nodded gravely. Sam spoke up again. "Unless, of course, whoever hit me from behind did something to me while I was unconscious?"   
  
General Hammond turned towards Doctor Frasier. "Is that possible?"  
  
Janet frowned. "I suppose so, but there were no unknown substances in her blood, and no visible evidence of any tampering."  
  
"The machine then?" Daniel questioned. Janet nodded.   
  
"I want to know what that machine is." General Hammond spoke to them all. "Prepare to return to the planet."   
  
Before he could say any more, Jack interrupted him. "Uh, General, if I may?" Hammond looked at him questioningly and nodded. "I don't think that Major Carter should join us on the mission back to the planet, Sir."  
  
"What?!" Sam stood up, enraged. Jacob laid one hand on her arm to stop her.  
  
Daniel looked confused. "Why, Jack?"  
  
"She's been compromised, sir and we can't risk having her out there in the field. And, as she thinks that she is the CO of SG1, she might not take to kindly from having to take orders from me." Jack stated calmly.  
  
"That's stupid, Jack!" Daniel shouted at him. "This is Sam we're talking about here!"  
  
"I know Daniel! But when you are out in the field, you need people that you can trust watching your back! And if Carter has been compromised, I can't trust her. She has no idea who the hell I am, for crying out loud!"  
  
Daniel opened his mouth to angrily contradict Jack, when Jacob spoke up.  
"He's right, Daniel, much as we may not like it. You need to have people you can be sure of in the field. You need to be able to put your life in their hands."   
  
Sam glared at Jack. "With all due respect, Sir, I think I should be allowed to go on this mission, since you'll be likely to break the machine so there's no hope of my memories returning. Not that that would be a bad thing."   
  
Jack returned her icy look. "Well, Major, I'm sure that Daniel, Teal'c and I are more than capable of bringing back this machine without damaging it."  
  
"Somehow, I find that difficult to believe." Sam spoke harshly. "Do you even know if the machine is movable?" Jack gave her a blank look, and Sam shot him a smug look.  
  
General Hammond stood, raising his hands. "Major, Colonel, please! This petty argument is getting us nowhere!" He glared at them both. They both looked down, having the grace to look slightly ashamed. "Now I understand your concern, Colonel, and it is perfectly reasonable. However, it is imperative that we get this machine here undamaged, and I believe Major Carter will be needed to ensure that." Sam looked slightly triumphant.   
  
"Yes sir." Jack nodded curtly.  
  
"But," General Hammond turned towards Sam. "I expect you to obey all orders given by Colonel O'Neill as your commanding officer. The last thing we need is conflict over orders in a potentially hazardous off-world situation."  
  
"Yes sir." Sam answered.   
  
"Good." Hammond looked around at everyone. "I want you to return to the planet and get that machine. You ship out in half an hour. Dismissed." With that, he stood and left the room, Jacob Carter following him.   
  
Daniel turned to Jack, about to question him again but Jack cut him off. "Not now, Daniel," he said tiredly, and left the room.   
  
Daniel stared after him, looking slightly confused. "I'll never understand the Military."  
  
*******  
  
One hour later and they all assembled in the Gateroom, preparing to leave. Daniel, arriving late, entered the Gateroom to find Jack standing apart from Teal'c and Sam with a stony look on his face. A quick glance at Sam found her securing her gear and looking at Jack, with an identical expression on her own face. Daniel sighed. This mission was not going to be easy. As the gate was dialled up, he stood between Jack and the other team members, trying to lessen the obvious gap between them. Jack acknowledged him with a nod, and Sam gave him a small smile. Daniel watched as the event horizon materialised and then stabilised. As the team started to move up the ramp, General Hammond spoke over the PA system.  
  
"SG1, you have a go." He paused. "And please try and stay out of trouble."  
He watched as each member of the team passed through the event horizon, and then turned to Jacob, who stood at his side. "I have a bad feeling about this." 


	7. Chapter7

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, I finally got Chapter 7 written! Yay! Sorry for the delay, but I had exams, and a load of work, but now that they're over, hopefully I'll be updating more. :) Anyway, tell me what you think.  
  
************  
  
Sam surveyed the landscape of the planet in front of her as Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill secured the perimeter and Daniel checked the DHD. To her left lay the shadowy dark green bulk of the forest, looking slightly forbidding and to her right, the ground sloped fairly steeply upwards towards a stony ridge and some higher ground. The Stargate was positioned in a fairly large and flat, grassy area, with little cover in case of attack. As she waited, Sam considered the team's options if there was an attack. If the Jaffa were still on the planet, the team would have more chance in the forest, with more cover available. Not that it would be her decision, she reminded herself. Colonel O'Neill was the team leader here, not her.   
  
She looked up as the Colonel and Teal'c arrived back at the base of the platform that the Gate stood on.  
  
"Okay, Teal'c, you take point, and I'll bring up the rear." Jack looked around at them all as he gave the orders. "Let's move out." Daniel fell into step with Sam, as they walked behind Teal'c, with Jack following several paces behind, keeping on the look out for any possible dangers. The team walked in silence for a while before Daniel spoke.   
  
"So, do you think that you'll be able to reverse the machine's effects?" he questioned her.  
  
Sam frowned slightly. "I don't know. I guess we'll see when we get there. But I think I'm going to need you to translate some Goa'uld symbols on the device when we find it."  
  
Daniel nodded. "Sure. That shouldn't be too difficult."  
  
Sam smiled at him. "Thanks. I could probably figure it out eventually without knowing the symbols, but it'll be a lot easier if you can tell me what they mean."  
  
Daniel nodded and smiled. 'Well, that's what I'm here for." He glanced over his shoulder at Jack, who was walking silently behind them. "And anyway, the sooner you get your memories back, the better."  
  
Sam followed his gaze, and her expression turned cold. "If you say so."  
  
Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes. "I do. Trust me on this, Sam, you and Jack really are a great team."  
  
Sam looked at him slightly sceptically, but remained silent. The rest of the journey towards the clearing where the device was stationed was spent in silence, with only a few comments between Jack and Teal'c about possible danger to break the peace.  
  
**************  
  
Just under an hour later and they arrived at the clearing. Sam immediately began to make her way to where the machine was concealed among the trees.   
  
"Hold it a minute, Major," Jack spoke quickly before she could get there.   
  
Sam turned to him and glared. "Now what?"  
  
"We need to secure the area first." Jack spoke slowly, as if stating the obvious. Sam looked slightly guilty at forgetting this important step and nodded. Teal'c and Jack circled the clearing in opposite directions while Sam approached the machine cautiously, looking out for any explosive devices or traps in the area surrounding it.   
  
"The immediate area is clear, sir." She spoke over the radio to the Colonel, after studying the area carefully, and finding nothing that appeared dangerous.   
  
"Roger that, Major. Hold your position." Jack's voice crackled over the radio in reply.   
  
"Yes, Sir." Sam remained where she was, waiting for Jack's command, and still looking out for any possible danger.   
  
A few moments later, and Jack and Teal'c arrived back in the clearing. "It's clear," Jack said, nodding to Sam. "Go ahead Major." He signalled to Teal'c and both left again, to patrol the area and keep an eye out for any Jaffa.  
  
Sam nodded in acknowledgement, and knelt beside the machine, studying it. "Daniel, these were the symbols I meant." She gestured to the screen, which currently displayed Goa'uld writing on the front of the device. "Any idea what they mean?"  
  
Daniel knelt beside her, and examined them carefully. Sam could hear him muttering under his breath as he gave the symbols his full attention. As he tried to translate them, Sam studied the device again. It was roughly the size of a small television, and rectangular in shape. On the front of the device, taking up approximately half of the space was the screen displaying the Goa'uld symbols. A similar sized panel at the back opened to reveal the crystals inside the device, which enabled it to work. The rest of the device seemed to be covered in gold Goa'uld decoration. Sam theorised that the decoration concealed some kind of device that had worked on her, to remove her memories of the Colonel. She wasn't sure how to activate the machine, but she was going to investigate this once Daniel had told her what the symbols meant.  
  
After a while, Daniel sat up again, and removed his glasses to clean them. Sam looked at him expectantly. "So? Any idea of what it is says?"   
  
"Well, as far as I can tell, it seems to suggest that by reversing the crystals…." Daniel began, only to be interrupted by the radios crackling into life, and the sound of the Colonel's voice shouting over them.  
  
"Carter, Daniel, get out of there now!!! There's a platoon of Jaffa headed your way! Leave the machine and head for the gate!" Daniel and Sam looked at each other, before they each grabbed their weapons and scrambled up, running for the edge of the forest. They had nearly reached the edge of the trees, when they ran into Teal'c and Jack running from another direction. They stopped briefly.   
  
"They aren't far behind," Jack panted slightly, "We have to get to the gate." Daniel nodded, and started towards the gate again, with Teal'c and Jack following. Sam hesitated for a moment, and glanced back to the clearing. Suddenly, she turned around and began to head decisively back to the clearing. Jack turned around as he heard something and saw her. "Major! Where the HELL are you going?"  
  
"We have to get the device! Otherwise it'll have all been for nothing!" Sam called back, running faster.   
  
"Major! Leave it!" Jack yelled, furiously. He turned back to Teal'c and Daniel. "Get to the gate! I'll go after Carter." He turned and started running after her. "Major! Get back here NOW!"  
  
*************  
  
Sam heard the Colonel's angry call after her, but ignored it. She had to get to the device. She wasn't going to let this all be for nothing. She hated the idea of any of her memories not being her own, the fact that some Goa'uld machine had tampered with her mind, the fact that she just wasn't herself anymore, even if she thought that she was fine.  
  
***********  
  
Jack ran after Sam, desperately trying to catch up with her. What the hell was she doing? 'But this isn't Sam anymore,' he reminded himself. 'This is some other Carter.' He continued to run, ducking under branches, and listening out for the Jaffa, holding his P90 up as he ran. He finally managed to catch up with her at the edge of the clearing. He grabbed her shoulder and swung her round.  
  
"What the HELL do you think you're doing?" He hissed, the anger evident in his eyes, but keeping his voice low so as not to attract attention. "You could be jeopardising the whole team. We have no idea where the Jaffa are now!" Sam gave him a sullen look, and ignored him, swinging back round, moving forward to enter the clearing.   
  
"Carter!" He growled, before following her. He heard a small gasp from her, and he pushed quickly through the bushes to enter the clearing. As he emerged, two pairs of hands grabbed him roughly, took away his gun, and shoved him to the floor. He raised his head to look up, and found himself next to Carter on the floor, with the business end of a staff weapon open, and aimed at his head. "Oh Crap." 


	8. Chapter8

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Chapter 8 is here! I'm on holidays currently so should be able to get chapter 9 written soon. This one gave me a bit of hassle with some writer's block, but its doe now so hopefully I can get onto a bit of ship in the next chapter.  
  
*********  
  
"Oh Crap." No sooner were the words out of Jack's mouth when he heard the familiar sound of Zat gun firing and he was hit by the blue bolt of electricity, knocking him unconscious. A second later, another bolt hit Sam and she too fell unconscious to the floor beside him. The Jaffa holding the Zat smiled slightly, before signalling the other Jaffa surrounding him to collect the prisoners and follow him.  
  
***  
  
They were dragged into a golden throne room with their hands bound and were forced unceremoniously to their knees. Struggling to keep their balance and still feeling the effects of the Zat blast, they took in their surroundings. There were two entrances to the chamber that they could see, both of which were guarded by two Jaffa with staff weapons. One door faced the as yet empty throne and was the door that they had been dragged through. The other was behind the throne and to the left, obviously leading to the private quarters of the Goa'uld in question. Sam frowned slightly. From the looks of this chamber, they didn't appear to be on a ship of any kind, the room was more akin to that of a palace.   
  
They looked up as the Jaffa at the entrance behind the throne stood to attention, uncrossing the staff weapons that barred the doorway. The other Jaffa took this as a signal and also stood to attention. The Jaffa that stood behind Jack and Sam shoved them in the back so that they fell forward onto their faces, unable to see who was entering the room.   
  
"You will kneel before your God."   
  
Jack rolled his eyes. "Well, ya know, my god isn't a snakehead."   
  
The Jaffa kicked him hard in the ribs in response. "Insolence!"  
  
Jack gasped for breath, winded, and Sam lifted her head slightly to glance at him in concern, only to have it pushed back down to the floor. The room fell silent except for Jack's slightly laboured breathing and then footsteps were heard to enter the chamber. A pair of feet and the bottom of a dress swept past the line of Jack's vision, and mounted the dais that the throne stood on.   
  
The next moment, Jack and Sam were hauled up again to kneel and look up at the figure seated imperiously on the throne. Surprised by the sudden movement, they both reeled slightly as dizziness overcame them. Jack coughed, and spat out some blood onto the floor. He then looked up defiantly at the Goa'uld seated on the throne.  
  
She was quite tall and she had red, slightly wavy hair that was twisted up on top of her head. Her skin was very pale and the black dress that she was wearing made it seem even paler, looking almost white. On one hand was a ribbon device, which was currently aimed in Jack's general direction.  
  
The Goa'uld stared down at him, a slight sneer on her features.   
  
"Well, well, well. The infamous Tau'ri are not as difficult to defeat as it seems."   
  
"And who the hell might you be?" Jack asked, sarcastically.   
  
The Goa'uld raised one eyebrow slightly at him. "We are Morrigan."  
  
Jack stared at her. "We? You mean there's another one as ugly as you?" He quipped, only to have Morrigan turn the hand device on him. He gritted his teeth as his back arched in pain, trying to prevent himself from crying out. After a moment, Morrigan lowered her hand again and Jack sagged, panting and sweating slightly. He glared up at her and the Goa'uld surveyed him with a smug smile on her face.  
  
"We think we shall enjoy this." She moved back towards the throne and sat down, facing them. "Although, we are disappointed that you did not give us much of a fight. The other system lords had us believe that you were … a challenge to defeat. Obviously not." She paused and glanced between Sam and Jack. "You may think that you are indestructible, but you are still Tau'ri and still subject to pitiful Tau'ri emotions such as your pathetic loyalty to the other members of your race. Your greatest weapon, perhaps. Or your biggest downfall? It does not take much to break that trust." Here, Morrigan paused again and smiled, a self-satisfied and cold smile. "All we needed to do was erase the memories of you," She pointed at Jack, "in this one," She pointed to Sam, "and you are doomed."  
  
Jack stared at her for a moment before lunging towards her, catching the Jaffa by surprise. "You!" He hissed, fury written all over his face.  
  
Morrigan brought the hand device over his head again, causing Jack to fall to his knees in pain. A few moments and she removed it and Jack slumped to the floor, breathing heavily, but staring up at her in defiance.  
  
Morrigan stared down her nose at him before continuing. "In her determination to be the leader she believes she is, she ignores all orders and any advice you give. And in your arguing, you are too foolish to notice that our Jaffa are surrounding you."   
  
Morrigan leant back in her throne, smiling again, pleased at her own ingenuity. Jack glowered at her, wanting to wipe the conceited, arrogant look off her face but found that he didn't have the energy after his brutal beating.  
  
"You can never defeat SG1!" He spat, " We will always be loyal to each other no matter what happens, and we never leave anyone behind!"  
  
The smile disappeared from Morrigan's face. "Throw them into a holding cell." She snapped. "We will deal with them later." 


	9. Chapter9

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter is a little longer than my usual, but I'm sure you won't mind. If I get down to work, I might get Chpater 10 up by next weekend but we'll have to see. Anway, read on, enjoy, and please review!   
  
Anything between ~~ is flashbacks of Sams memory  
  
*********  
  
They were flung to the floor of the holding cell unceremoniously. Winded, they both lay there for a moment before the door clanged shut with a resounding, ominous boom.   
  
Sam was the first to recover and crawled to Jack's side, a look of concern on her face. "Colonel? Sir?" She questioned quietly. "Are you okay?" A trace of worry was detectable in her voice.  
  
For a moment, Jack could believe that this was his Carter, worried about his injuries. The realisation of the truth hit him with full force a few seconds later. "I'll be fine." He rasped, curtly. "No thanks to you."  
  
Sam sat there for a moment, stunned by this reaction before anger overtook her again. "What did you say?" She asked, her voice dangerously low.  
  
Before he answered, Jack slowly and painfully dragged himself to sit upright, his entire body protesting at each movement. It was a few seconds before he spoke again, as he recovered from the effort. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess." He said, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly. "If you'd obeyed my orders like you were supposed to, we wouldn't have been caught."   
  
Sam glared at him in response. "Who says that it wasn't your shouting that alerted them to our presence? It wouldn't surprise me if everyone on Earth heard you!"  
  
Jack opened his eyes again. "Well, if you'd obeyed my orders in the first place, I wouldn't have been shouting!" He hissed. He turned away. "I knew I shouldn't have let you come on this mission."  
  
"What?" Sam snapped, her voice cold and hard. Then with an air of realisation, "Oh, I know what this is. It's because I'm a woman isn't it?"  
  
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Jack sighed, with the air of someone who has had this argument thrust in his face numerous times. He sat up and stared at her. "No, this is not because you are a woman! Nor is it because you are a scientist! It's because you think that you're the Commanding Officer around here and you won't accept orders! Which results in us being captured by the Jaffa!"   
  
"Well, I'm not the smart ass who couldn't keep his mouth shut and so gets beaten up by the Jaffa because he has to have the last word!" Sam retorted angrily.   
  
The pair fell into silence, the anger emanating off them in waves. The tension in the room was thick, and any Jaffa with sense that entered now would probably leave in hurry.  
  
************  
  
It was at least an hour before either of them spoke again, each sitting on opposite sides of the cell, lost in their own thoughts. The silence was deafening, with the only sound being that of their breathing, Sam's quiet and regular, Jack's harsh and slightly laboured.   
  
It was Jack who first broke the silence between them after thinking it over, running it all through in his head as they sat there.  
  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Sam lifted her head from her knees to observe him. He continued. "It's not your fault. It's that damned snakehead."  
  
"No, I'm sorry. You're right, if I'd only listened to you, we wouldn't be stuck here."   
  
Jack smiled slightly and gave a small shake of his head. "We were both wrong. Let's just leave it at that."   
  
Sam nodded before shuffling over to the opposite wall of the cell to sit next to him. "How are your ribs?" She asked.  
  
"Probably cracked. But they don't hurt as much as they did earlier. I tried to bind them up a bit with my shirt." Sam nodded. She'd been watching him earlier, as he ripped the bottom part of his T-shirt off and wrapped it tightly around his chest. "No other injuries to report though. Couple of bruises maybe, but nothing major."   
  
"That's good." She commented, glad to hear that his breathing had eased a bit now, and sounded less painful than it had an hour ago.  
  
They fell into silence again for a while before Jack spoke up again. "How are the memories?"  
  
Sam sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. I've been sitting here, trying to remember something, anything with you in it, but it's all Daniel, Teal'c, Simmons." Jack nodded there, an air of resignation to his entire demeanour as she paused, thinking. "It's weird, though."  
  
"What do you mean?" Jack looked slightly confused.  
  
"If I think about the details of certain events, I can't quite seem to remember them clearly. They're all fuzzy. Sort of like a TV that needs tuning. Yet, there are other things that I can remember with amazing clarity. Ask me about what projects I worked on last year, and I could tell you everything down to the last detail. Ask me who was retested as a Za'tarc with me, and what was said to prove our innocence and I can't be certain." Jack stiffened ever so slightly at the mention of that event. Sam didn't seem to notice and continued speaking, oblivious to his reaction. "It's like everything that I can remember seems plausible on the surface but if you start to dig too deep, there are little discrepancies, like pieces of the jigsaw that don't fit. And if I start to think too hard about it all, the less I seem to be able to remember. And then I begin to get a headache."  
  
"Over thinking tends to do that to you." Jack commented. Sam smiled, ducking her head and giggling slightly. 'How does he do that? Manage to cheer me up when we're in this mess?'  
  
"It's just…" More serious again, Sam gesticulated with her hands, trying to think of the words. "There are some things that obviously don't fit - thoughts, comments…." She paused, and cast a sidelong glance at the man sitting beside her. "…Feelings."   
  
~~  
  
"I remember feeling feelings."  
  
"For me?"  
  
"No, for Tor."  
  
~~  
  
Jack gave her a sharp look, unsure of how to react. His initial reaction was one of relief. Relief that there were some things that could not be completely erased from her mind, things that were deeper than mere memory.   
  
The next reaction was from his head, the voice that reminded him of the regulations that separated them, telling him that this wasn't his Carter; this was still a stranger. Yet, there were some aspects to her that were still innately Sam, whether she remembered him or not. He felt her gaze upon him, studying him, waiting for a reaction or an answer.  
  
"We said we were going to leave it in the room." He spoke, gruffly, his throat constricting slightly, finding it hard to say the words.  
  
~~  
  
"Sir, none of this has to leave this room."  
  
"We're OK with that?"  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
~~  
  
Sam nodded slowly, comprehension and understanding dawning on her as another fragment of an old conversation was brought to the forefront of her mind.   
  
"Of course," she whispered, her face falling slightly. "I guess that's the way it has to be." Jack nodded slowly, lost in his own thoughts. Sam spoke again. "This helps, I think." He lifted his head to look at her again, the unspoken question visible in his eyes. "Just sitting here, talking, it brings back small memories. Nothing groundbreaking, unfortunately. Mainly small fragments of conversations. But it does help."   
  
"Good." Jack smiled slightly at her. "Less work for the machine to do when we get out of here."  
  
"If we get out of here." Sam replied, being the realist.   
  
Jack dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. "Please. Allow me to be the pessimist here." He surveyed the cell they were in properly for the first time. "We've been in worse situations than this."   
  
The cell was very dark, only a small beam of light entered from the outside world, through a chink under the door. Once your eyes had accustomed to the darkness, you could only just make out your surroundings in the greyness.   
  
The walls were made from stone, and slightly damp, and cold. Likewise, the floor was stone, worn with age. Both were smeared in dirt.   
  
He stood and moved to the door, feeling around the edges, in an attempt to find out all he could that might help them. It was made from an unknown metal, and when he leaned against it to test its strength, it didn't give. After a while, he spoke up. "It was me, if you were wondering."  
  
Sam looked up from where she was still sitting, a confused expression on her face. "What was?"  
  
"The Za'tarc test. I was the one tested with you."   
  
~~  
  
"I'd rather die myself than lose Carter."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I care about her. A lot more than I'm supposed to."  
  
~~  
  
As the memory of the confession returned to her, Sam smiled. "Thank you." She said softly. It was only another fragment of conversation, yet somehow this one gave her more comfort than the others.  
  
Jack didn't appear to hear her, and continued with his search of the cell. "Don't worry, Carter. We'll get out of here." Sam smiled at the use of her surname, the first time he had used it since he had discovered her memory loss. Feeling heartened, she stood and began to help Jack with his search.   
  
"Yes Sir, we will." 


	10. Chapter10

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry this took so long, I was trying to get it right. However, chapter 11 is halfway written and will be posted as soon as I can get the end bit right. :) Note for regular readers - as pointed out by Sirius7, Ferretti being under Sam's command would kill his career, so all previous chapters have been edited, so Sam thinks her other team member is Lieutenant Simmons instead. (I figured it might make it more interesting - considering his 'crush' on her.)  
  
***********  
  
"The door's guarded." Jack muttered, quietly getting up and moving away from the door, where he had been peering through the crack at the bottom.   
  
"How many?" Sam asked, pressing her ear against the cold metal, listening for something, anything that might be a sign of a rescue.  
  
"One, at least. I can't be sure if there are any more." Jack sat back down tiredly, shaking his head slightly in defeat. "Any ideas, Carter?" he asked, looking over to where she had moved to sit against the opposite wall.   
  
She shook her head. "No Sir."  
  
Jack sighed. "No easy way out. Nothing we can use as a weapon. Probably no hope of a rescue as we have no idea where we are." He began to idly trace patterns in the dirt with the toe of his boot as he thought. "I'm all out of ideas."  
  
They lapsed into silence. Faint sounds filtered in from beyond the door, although they were indistinguishable, too faint to mean anything.  
  
"We need every advantage we can get, if we have any hope of escaping." Sam spoke eventually, breaking the silence once more. Jack nodded slowly.   
  
"What did you have in mind?" he asked.   
  
"Nothing concrete. I was just thinking about what she said." Jack didn't need to ask whom she meant. The slight tone of disgust and anger gave it away. "She said she'd deal with us later. And from my previous experience of Goa'uld, that would mean she wants something from us." She paused. "Which means…"  
  
"Torture." Jack finished for her, his voice grim, and his jaw set, yet his face strangely devoid of any emotion.  
  
"Yeah." Sam replied softly. She sighed, before continuing. "My only suggestion is that we pretend to be weaker than we really are. That shouldn't be a problem to make believable, you took a hell of a beating from the Jaffa already."   
  
Jack grimaced. "Don't remind me." He groaned, rubbing his tender ribs slightly. He studied her for a moment as he considered her proposal. "So then we can take them by surprise?"   
  
Sam nodded as he caught onto her idea. "It's all we can do, for now."   
  
For a moment, Jack said nothing as he weighed up the idea. After a while, he nodded. "It's all we can do."  
  
*****  
  
It was probably about two hours before the Jaffa returned, but Jack couldn't be certain of the actual length of time. At some point between being zatted and arriving in the throne room, his watch had been smashed against something and wasn't working. The conversation had petered out a long while before. After making their 'plan', the pair had lapsed into silence, quietly reflecting on the situation, or thinking of home.   
  
They were each sitting against opposite sides of the cell when the door was flung open with a crash and harsh bright light filled the cell from the corridor beyond, chasing the comfortable darkness away. It left Sam and Jack with their eyes screwed shut against the brightness, arms half raised, trying to protect eyes that were unused to the light.  
  
Peering out from under half closed lids, Jack could just about make out the dark figures of two or three Jaffa standing in the doorway.  
  
"Bring them." A voice commanded. One of the Jaffa strode to Jack's side and grabbed his shoulder, yanking him upright. Jack allowed himself to sag and then fall, making himself appear to have no strength. The Jaffa scowled at him.  
  
"These Tau'ri truly are weak." He scoffed. "They will be easy to break." The cell was filled with the cruel laughs from the other Jaffa. Jack was pulled to his feet again, and another Jaffa appeared at his other side. Together, the two guards pushed him out of the cell, their arms hooked under his shoulders as they dragged him down the corridor.  
  
From the sounds that came from behind, he guessed that Sam was being treated in a similar way.  
  
****  
  
Once again, they were thrown to the floor of a small chamber. However, this time, Jack made no move to sit up, instead just lying there, playing the part to seem far weaker than he was. Seconds after he hit the floor, Sam followed him, falling at his side. She lay unmoving, following his lead. The First Prime stared at them in contempt and turned to speak to the other guards. Jack took the opportunity of the Jaffa's distraction to offer Sam an encouraging smile. Feebly, she returned it, a trace of fear in her eyes.  
  
"You. Guard the door." The First Prime pointed to two of the Jaffa, who bowed and moved to stand just outside the doorway, staff weapons in hand. He dismissed the others with a wave of his hand. "Leave me with them. They are too weak to fight back."   
  
The Jaffa nodded their compliance and left the room. After they had left, the door closed, leaving Sam and Jack alone in the room with the First Prime.  
  
He crossed the room in three strides and hauled Jack to his knees. Jack allowed himself to reel slightly, and almost fell again before the Jaffa steadied him slightly. From his new vantage point, Jack could now get a better look at the room that they were in.  
  
The chamber was small, and completely bare except for a long table across the opposite end. Upon it, Jack noticed with growing unease, were the weapons and provisions that they had been stripped of after they had first been captured. Among their own weaponry, a couple of more traditional Goa'uld torture weapons lay. The first prime lifted up a knife and studied it with great interest.   
  
"I have never before seen these Tau'ri weapons. Or used them." He turned towards Jack, a leer spread across his face. He advanced towards him, the knife raised slightly. Subconsciously, Jack shuffled backwards a few centimetres, in a failed attempt to escape as his eyes widened slightly in comprehension. The Jaffa was going to torture them with their own weapons.  
  
****  
  
For the fourth time since they had arrived, they were thrown to the floor and the door slammed shut behind them, the sound echoing around the cell, reverberating in the air.  
  
In an instant, Jack was at Sam's side.  
  
"Carter, are you alright?" He lightly brushed her arm and she hissed in pain. She rolled over onto her back, allowing Jack to see her injuries. He gave an involuntary wince if sympathy and a pang of guilt hit him. Thinking that she would be easier to break due to the fact that she was a woman, the Jaffa had concentrated most of his efforts on Sam. Ironic really, he mused. Considering that he was the one with the damaged ribs, and therefore, in his current state was probably weaker than her. (Admittedly, the injuries weren't as bad as they could have been but this was due to their acting skills.)  
  
As a result of the beatings, she had a large gash on her upper arm, which had been inflicted by a knife and was bleeding persistently. There was also some nasty bruising on her face, inflicted by various punches. Of course, these were only the injuries Jack could see.  
  
"Geez Carter." He sucked in his breath as he recognised the extent of her wounds. He sighed. "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's not your fault, sir." Sam rasped, before coughing and wincing in pain.  
  
"I should have tried harder to stop him!" Jack cursed himself inwardly. He helped Sam into a sitting position, leaning her against the wall. Gently this time, he lifted her arm, trying to see how bad it was.   
  
"You couldn't have done that," Sam closed her eyes briefly, biting her lip as Jack's fingers brushed a sore spot. "He was too strong."   
  
Jack merely grunted in response. "Let me fix up your arm." Removing his outer jacket, he proceeded to rip the sleeves off his T-shirt. Turning back to her, he used the strips of material to bind up the wound tightly. "We'd better not get any more injuries. I'm running out of shirt material." He joked, trying to raise a smile. Sam smiled weakly, not replying.  
  
"There." Jack sat back to admire his handiwork. After a moment, however, his face turned serious. "We can't take much more of this." He muttered. "We've got to get out of here."  
  
Sam nodded slowly, slightly despondently. As if realising something, she visibly brightened and smiled. "I think I might be able to help."   
  
Jack gave her a quizzical look. "How?"  
  
Reaching slightly awkwardly into her jacket, Sam withdrew one of their military issue knives. "This." She said, grinning.  
  
Jack stared in disbelief. "How did you get that?"  
  
**~Flashback~**  
  
"Ooof!" Sam was thrown forwards against the table, scattering its contents wildly. Winded, she looked over her shoulder to see the Jaffa advancing towards her again. She clutched at her upper arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Behind the Jaffa, Jack struggled to his feet. Hearing the noise, the Jaffa whirled around to face him, before advancing on him instead.   
  
Grateful for his distraction, Sam sagged slightly. As much as he thought that they were weaker than they were, the first prime was still managing to inflict wounds on them. As she caught her breath, Sam's gaze fell on the second knife lying nearby on the table. Glancing around, she noted that their tormentor was still concentrating his efforts on Jack for the time being. Quickly, she grabbed the knife and slipped it beneath her jacket, before returning to her original position, hoping that their captor wouldn't notice the missing weapon.  
  
**~End Flashback~**  
  
Jack grinned, his face lighting up for the first time since they'd been captured, the workings of an escape plan already forming in his mind. "This could be it." He whispered. "The chance we needed." He paused, thoughtful. "It'll need a bit more work, but this is how we'll do it…" 


	11. Chapter11

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I have finally finished this story! Go me! This isn't the last chapter, there are two more to come. I'll post the other two later on tonight ot tomorrow. Please read and review, let me know what you think. Thankyou so much for the reviews I have had so far, they've really kept me going.  
  
(Anything between ~~ is flashbacks, single quote marks are thoughts, double quotes are speech.)  
  
*************  
  
After passing a long, cold night in the cell, the pair had had little sleep and their escape plan had been discussed down to every conceivable eventuality (plus some inconceivable ones at Jack's insistence.) Now all they could do was wait.  
  
Wait is what they did. And wait and wait and wait. The hours ticked by at such a painfully slow rate that at one point Jack began to wonder if time was even passing at all. Conversation had stopped earlier in the morning. (Or was it evening? He was beginning to lose track). There was really nothing more that could be said and both had lapsed into their roles of weakness, which were becoming easier and easier to play as more time passed.   
  
In the corner, Sam sat contemplating the man lying on his back at the other end of the cell. He looked completely relaxed, with his hands folded behind his head, as if he was taking a nap. The contrast to the man she'd sat up with all night, planning their escape, was remarkable.   
  
She smiled slightly, as she considered all that she had learnt about him in a relatively short space of time. He was obviously a brilliant strategist, carefully planning everything down to the letter, in an attempt to make full use of any advantage they could get. He was also a good leader, commanding respect from her already, despite their earlier disagreements. He genuinely cared for his team, having wondered aloud about Teal'c and Daniel's fate earlier before. Not mention his concern about her earlier when she was injured.   
  
'Good looking too.' She thought absently, before mentally reprimanding herself. 'Sam! He's your CO. You can not think that about your CO!' A small traitorous voice spoke up in her mind. 'But is he really? You can't remember him being your CO. Does that really put you in his chain of command?'   
  
Sam quashed the voice, trying to forget about the memory flashbacks she'd had earlier which suggested that her 'other' self might have had similar thoughts on more than one occasion. In a desperate attempt to prevent her mind from wandering again, she once more ran through the plan in her head.  
  
*****  
  
It was probably early afternoon when the Jaffa returned, throwing the door open and once again flooding the cell with light. The cell occupants shrank back from the light, squinting in order to see properly. The First Prime snorted with scorn at their apparent weakness. He nodded to the guards outside the door who entered the cell and roughly picked up Sam and Jack, dragging them out of the cramped room and along the corridor once more.  
  
As they were manoeuvred along the golden passages, Sam tried to make a mental map of where things were so that when it came to escaping, they would have a greater chance. But after a day of no food or water and little sleep, not to mention her injuries at the hands of Jaffa the day previously, she quickly became disorientated as to where the cell was in relation to where they were being taken. The passages seemed to criss-cross all over the palace like a maze, and they all looked the same so it was no surprise that she had almost lost all sense of direction.  
  
*****   
  
As soon as the door to their torture chamber closed after the other Jaffa, they began putting their plan into action. It seemed that this time, the First Prime was favouring more traditional Goa'uld torture methods. He paused by the table, examining their weaponry before selecting a pain stick.  
  
He turned towards Sam, who shrank back at the sight of it. Her reaction seemed to please the Jaffa and he laughed menacingly as he approached.   
  
"Please. No." Jack croaked, his voice sounding so harsh and laboured that Sam looked up in surprise and concern before she realised that it was all part of the plan. The Jaffa turned to face him, a small glint of triumph present in his eyes.  
  
"Please stop." Jack coughed. "We'll tell you anything. Just no more of this."  
  
"No more?" The Jaffa questioned. He moved towards Jack, the weapon still raised. He looked at it, swinging it slightly. "It's a pity." He murmured, "I was wondering how the Tau'ri would react to the use of some of our own torture devices." With that, and no further warning, he lunged forward, striking Jack under his already damaged ribs with the weapon.   
  
The pain was unbearable. Jack bit down hard on his tongue in an effort to not cry out but failed, a muffled scream still emitting from his lips.  
  
Then, as suddenly as it began, the fiery pain lessened and disappeared. Watching through blurred vision and gasping to catch his breath, Jack saw the first prime keel over sideways, to reveal the stolen knife buried up to the hilt in his back, and Sam standing behind him, a fierce expression on her face.  
  
"Sir! Are you alright?" She knelt at his side in concern.  
  
"Never better." He grimaced and took a couple of deep breaths. "Come on."  
  
Sam helped him up and they moved to the table that still held their weaponry. His vision now clear, Jack quickly scanned the weapons that they had at their disposal.  
  
After a moment of deliberation, he swiftly picked up the two Zat guns and passed one to Sam, securing the other in the waistband of his BDU pants.   
  
At one end of the table, discarded along with their food and medical supplies were several packs of C4 and the detonators that had been stowed in their vests. Judging from the slightly battered look that they had, Jack knew the Jaffa had not been able to figure out their use and had largely ignored them as a result. He divided the explosives up between them.  
  
Meanwhile, Sam was sorting through the rest of the weaponry in order to find what else they could use. Their P90's were gone, taken for further study, leaving behind only Goa'uld weapons and the second knife. She slipped it into her boot for later use. A lone GDO also lay on the table, half hidden under the medical supplies. Thanking their lucky stars that the Goa'uld hadn't realized its significance, Sam fastened it securely to her arm.  
  
After checking that they were done, Jack swept the entire contents off the table with his arm, causing it to crash noisily to the ground. This was to prevent the Jaffa guards outside the door from suspecting anything with the room having being quiet for several minutes.  
  
The pair crept over to the door, taking up position either side, Zats armed and ready to stun the unsuspecting guards. Sam punched in all but one of the symbols required to open the door and stood, poised to press the final one. Jack raised one fist, three fingers raised, counting down silently. His last finger dropped and he mouthed 'Now!'  
  
She punched in the last symbol and the door opened silently. The guards turned around, expecting to see their First Prime. There was only time for surprise to register briefly on their faces before the bolts of electricity hit them and they fell.  
  
"Come on!" Jack rushed forward and grabbed the body of one of the guards, dragging him into the room. Sam followed suit with the other guard.   
  
*****  
  
Moments later, they stood in the corridor armed with the unconscious Jaffa guards' Staff Weapons.  
  
"Okay, so here's the plan." Jack turned to her. "Do you know where we are in relation to the throne room?"  
  
Sam shook her head. "I lost track."   
  
"Don't worry. I'll head for the throne room, and rig the sarcophagus with C4. You rig some of the corridors in this area, so that we cause as much damage as possible. That should keep them occupied." He grinned. "You got that?"  
  
Sam nodded. "Then what?"  
  
"Meet me here in..." He glanced at his watch, tapping it in annoyance when he realised it was broken. "Back here in 15 minutes. Set your watch."   
  
Sam was a step ahead of him, already setting it on a timer. "Got it."   
  
"Good." He turned to make his way to the throne room, but paused and turned back. "If I'm not here after 15 minutes, you go, understood? You get the hell out of here."   
  
Sam frowned slightly and nodded. "Yes sir."   
  
"Good." He smiled at her. "We'll be alright, Carter."   
  
"Yes Sir." She nodded again, feeling slightly better by his encouragement. He nodded at her again, and turned heading off down one of the corridors. Sam stared after him for a few seconds before turning around and heading off in the opposite direction.   
  
*****  
  
13 minutes later, Sam arrived at meeting point, having rigged what seemed to be some of the major supporting walls in the palace with the explosives. She panted slightly, having narrowly missed a couple of Jaffa guards heading to some mysterious destination deeper within the warren of corridors. Glancing around, it was evident that Colonel O'Neill had not returned yet, so she crouched in the doorway of their torture room, awaiting his return and keeping watch for any more Jaffa.  
  
*****  
  
After a further five minutes, she was worried. Their scheduled rendezvous had passed and he still hadn't shown up. She peered down the corridor again. Nothing, not even the sound of footsteps returning. She bit her lip nervously. She should really leave and obey his orders, getting herself the hell out of there, but she couldn't. Something was telling her to stay.   
  
'What if he's been captured?' She thought. 'Or worse….' But that didn't bear thinking about. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, along with the wave of emotion that had accompanied it. Her stomach clenched with fear. 'I can't just leave him here. I can't leave him behind!' She recalled the words of one of her flashbacks.   
  
~"I'd rather die myself than lose Carter…"~  
  
'Please god, don't let him be dead!' 


	12. Chapter12

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I've had bits of this chapter written since I first started the story. (The shippy bits, naturally). I hope you enjoy it, please read and review!  
  
************  
  
She'd finally come to a decision. To leave the palace, she would have to go via the throne room anyway as she knew of no other exit. Plus, this would give her the chance to look for Jack. There was no way in hell that she was leaving him behind. And somehow, she knew that he would do the same for her.   
  
Pausing briefly to take a few deep breaths and psych herself up, Sam readied the Zat gun. She stood and after checking that the coast was clear, started to jog down the corridor that she had last seen Jack running down, all the while, keeping her senses alert for the approach of Jaffa.   
  
There was a sharp bend to the right in the corridor up ahead, and Sam slowed down as she approached. That was when she heard it. Footsteps. Coming towards her. She cursed quietly under her breath. Swiftly she moved to the side of the corridor, her back against it as she sidled along the wall towards the corner. Listening carefully, she noted that the other footsteps had also slowed, meaning that they must be aware of her presence. Dammit. She was a metre away from the corner now. She raised her Zat, and swung around the corner, Zat up and ready to fire at whoever was there.   
  
Jack stood there, in a similar stance, his own Zat aimed at her. When he realised who she was, he lowered it slowly.   
  
"Carter." He breathed in relief.  
  
Sam stared at him, wide eyed for a moment, a mixture of shock and relief running through her veins as it sunk in that he was safe.   
  
The kiss surprised them both. Sam wasn't sure what it was that made her move towards him and kiss him, but she was holding onto him tightly, not wanting to let go, as if trying to ascertain that he really was there. As they realised, they both pulled away slowly, albeit a little reluctantly, staring into each other's eyes. Jack recovered first.  
  
"Ya missed me then, huh?" He said, his eyes twinkling.   
  
A small smile crossed Sam's face briefly and she lightly hit his upper arm.   
  
Jack's voice turned serious. "Hey…" He tilted her chin up with his hand, and saw the tears glistening in her eyes. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I thought you were dead." Sam told him honestly, her voice full of emotion.   
  
"Come here." Jack pulled her into a hug, his strong arms encircling her and pulling her against his chest. "You don't get rid of me that easily, you know." They stood there for a few seconds before Jack looked down again. "We'd better get going."  
  
Sam nodded and pulled away. "Let's go."   
  
*****  
  
They reached the entrance to the palace without a hitch. Sam had detonated one of the packs of C4 further in the building, sending the entire contingent of Jaffa rushing there to find the source of the problem. It wouldn't be long before they noticed the prisoners escape so they had to move fast.  
  
Blinking at the sudden brightness of the sunlight, they stopped outside the entrance and scanned their surroundings. The palace was very large, lying in a small valley with a high ridge encircling the entire compound. At one point in front of, and slightly to the left of the entrance was a less steep path leading to the top of the ridge. Jack pointed, and grabbed Sam's hand, before running in the direction of the path. Shouts were heard from within the palace before they were barely halfway up. They dropped to the ground and Sam pulled out the detonators, setting off the remaining C4. They ducked from the explosion, debris and dust flying up into the air. Smoke rose from the palace, where fires had broken out at various points in the structure.  
  
In an instant, they were on their feet again, and racing to the top of the ridge. As they reached it, Jack turned to see if they were being pursued. The Jaffa had only just reached the palace entrance in confusion, and hadn't yet spotted them. They were too busy trying to sort out the damage in the palace.  
  
"Look!" Sam exclaimed, an obvious note of surprise in her voice. "We're still on the planet!" Jack turned, looking down the other side of the ridge onto the clearing with the Stargate in, and beyond that, the forest.   
  
"But there wasn't a Goa'uld palace on the planet we were on, Carter."   
  
"It must have been cloaked. That would explain why it wasn't picked up by the MALP or the UAV." She replied.   
  
"Well, as fascinating as that is, we have to get the hell out of here!" Jack grabbed her hand again, practically dragging her down the other side of the ridge.   
  
*****  
  
They were almost at the Stargate, and Sam tried to break away to dial the DHD, only to find Jack continuing to run towards the forest, dragging her with him.   
  
"What are you doing? We've got to get out of here!"  
  
"After all we've been through, I'm not leaving until you have got your memories back!" He spoke with determination. "Besides, the Jaffa will expect us to use the Gate, they won't think that we'll stay here any longer than necessary. We've got plenty of time before they realise their mistake."   
  
Sam nodded. "Right, let's go."  
  
*****  
  
They arrived at the clearing with the device without any problems. Sam headed straight for the device and knelt in front of it.   
  
"Do you know how to undo what it did?" Jack asked her, seemingly carelessly, although there was a slight edge to his words that gave his nervousness away.  
  
Sam confidently removed the small panel at the back, revealing the crystals as she spoke. "Daniel said something about reversing the crystals."  
  
"What will that do?" He asked.  
  
"I don't know, sir." She admitted, looking up at him. "Daniel didn't get the chance to finish." She looked down at the device. "But it's all we've got."  
  
Jack nodded, stepping towards her, and resting one hand encouragingly on her shoulder. "Do what you have to do." He took up a defensive position at the edge of the clearing, listening out for Jaffa, and at the same time, keeping one watchful eye on Sam.  
  
With ease that came of practice, she removed the crystals, and began replacing them in a different order, reversing the pattern of colour. When the final crystal clicked into place, she replaced the panel.   
  
"The only thing now is to see how to operate…" She was cut off as a beam of light shot out from the device, focussing on the centre of her forehead.  
  
"Sam!" Jack yelled in surprise and worry. The beam switched off and Sam slowly yet silently crumpled to the floor, unconscious. He ran to her side. "Don't you dare give up on me now!" He tried slapping her face lightly, but she didn't stir.  
  
"Aw, crap." Tucking the Zat into his pants, he gently scooped her up into his arms and turned, heading for the gate. 


	13. Epilogue

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Stargate or any of the characters and I'm not getting paid for this, so please don't sue me.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: *sings out of tune* 'And now the end is near...' Well, the last thign you want to hear is me singing or rambling when the end is finally here. Apologies for the times when I took ages to update, but thankyou to all of you who have stuck with it and thankyou for all your kind reviews, they really helped. :) So here it is! So love it? Hate it? (And I *really* hope you don't hate it.) And please read and review, for old times sake? ;)  
  
**********  
  
EPILOGUE: (Daniel's POV)  
  
One month later and everything had returned to normal. One month ago today, Jack had arrived through the Stargate, frantic and carrying an unconscious Sam in his arms. It had been an eerie felling of déjà vu for all who had been in the Control Room when they had originally returned from the planet. But luckily, there had been a happy ending this time.   
  
Both had been taken straight to the Infirmary, as it was clear that they had not escaped the planet unharmed. Sam had woken up the next day, and thankfully, all her memories has returned and were intact, as she remembered Jack clearly. Both remained there a week, Jack being treated for broken ribs and injury from the torture weapons, Sam being treated for her own cuts and bruises, while being kept under observation for any possible side effects from the device. Jack was released two days before Sam, but spent the majority of that time by her side, as if worried that if he even left her she would disappear. As a result, there were currently many theories running around as to what may have occurred between them on the planet.  
  
And today was their first mission since the incident. Daniel arrived late to the Gate Room, mumbling apologies, to see Sam and Jack flirting with each other. Nothing unusual there, except there had been rather more flirting recently between them. Almost as if they knew something... Or perhaps something had happened? Daniel knew his friends well, and he wasn't one to believe the rumours, but there had to be some explanation for this new behaviour. He'd subtly questioned Jack about it, who had brushed it off, joking.   
  
{"You'd tell me if something had happened between you, wouldn't you?"  
  
"Are you kidding? Of course I wouldn't, it would destroy both of our careers!"}   
  
This had only served to make Daniel more suspicious. Something had happened. They weren't going to tell him. But he would find out some day. 


End file.
